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How to Actually Set Your Big Lap Departure Date (Not Just Talk About It)

ByMargie Pumpa Updated on:

I’ve helped a lot of families plan their Big Lap over the years, and there’s one mistake I see pop up again and again. It can push a family’s trip back by months, sometimes even years.

It’s not the van. It’s not the budget. It’s the departure date, or more specifically, never actually picking one.

Stuck in “Fairyland”

This is what we call being in Fairyland. You go around telling all your friends and family about this magical trip, that you want to get a caravan and travel Australia and see Uluru and Karijini and the Karri trees and all these amazing places. And your family and friends just go, “well, just go.”

Instead, so many families keep talking about it. They keep researching. They can’t get out of the loop of research and planning. Everything else you can put in place, what to do with the house, what to do with your stuff. But until you have that departure date, you can’t put your timeline in place. That’s the hardest thing to do.

Think About Your Important Dates First

Have you got a family wedding coming up? Are your kids doing graduation, or their Year 12 exams? Is there a big event you should hang around for? Don’t forget, when you’re partway through a year-long trip, you can always fly home, just budget for it.

Write all your big dates down first.

Work Out Roughly Where and When You Want to Go

Don’t go to the top of Australia over summer. Wet season means closed roads, it’s not touristy, and it’s really, really hot. Start your summer travel down south. In winter, the top of Australia is awesome, unless you want the snow.

Put down the month you want to be somewhere, not a specific date. Don’t write “Ningaloo for the whale sharks on the 10th of June”, that just puts pressure on you. Put the rough month, then work back from there and slot in the big dates from the step above.

Circle a Month, Then Narrow It Down

Get everyone travelling with you involved, your partner, your adult kids, whoever. Circle a month on the calendar. That’s your starting point. Then, in the next conversation, start narrowing it down to an actual date.

From there it comes down to work, the house, finances. Have a chat with your boss, have a chat with the school, get all those pieces in place. Once you’ve done that, narrow it down to an actual date. That’s your departure date. You can still change it, but now you’ve got something to work towards.

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    Work Backwards From Your Date

    Once you’ve got a departure date, work backwards. The month before you depart, sort this. Three months before, sort that. Six months before, sort the van, and give yourself plenty of time if you’re buying new, it can take up to a year.

    Once you’ve got a plan, you can tell your friends and family a real date. “We’re leaving on the 1st of July.” They’ll go, “you’ve actually got a departure date, that’s exciting”, and they can start planning around you too, when to catch up before you go, or fly over and see you somewhere on the road.

    Our Thoughts

    The one thing that trips families up more than anything else isn’t the van, or the route, it’s never picking a real date. Circle a month, have the follow-up conversation, and land on an actual date. Everything else can be worked backwards from there.

    If you want the fuller checklist of what actually needs sorting once you’ve got that date locked in, from insurance to what to do with your house, we’ve written about that here: 6 Things You Need to Sort Before You Leave on Your Big Lap. And once you’ve got a rough date, the next real question is how much to budget, we cover that here: How to Work Out Your Big Lap Budget.

    We built a budget planner that walks through those same numbers with you, worth a look once your date’s circled. Have a look here.

    Margie Pumpa is the owner and writer for Margie and Tim: Travel and Adventure. She specializes in outdoor camping, caravanning and all things adventure.

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